child restraint FORD EXCURSION 2000 1.G User Guide

Important child restraint precautions
You are required by law to use safety restraints for children in the U.S.
and Canada. If small children ride in your vehicle (generally children who
are four years old or younger and who weigh 18 kg [40 lbs] or less), you
must put them in safety seats made especially for children. Check your
local and state or provincial laws for specific requirements regarding the
safety of children in your vehicle.
Never let a passenger hold a child on his or her lap while the
vehicle is moving. The passenger cannot protect the child from
injury in a collision.
Always follow the instructions and warnings that come with any infant or
child restraint you might use.
When possible, always place children under age 12 in the rear seat of
your vehicle. Accident statistics suggest that children are safer when
properly restrained in the rear seating positions than in the front seating
position.
Children and safety belts
If the child is the proper size, restrain the child in a safety seat.
Children who are too large for child safety seats (as specified by your
child safety seat manufacturer) should always wear safety belts.
Follow all the important safety restraint and air bag precautions that
apply to adult passengers in your vehicle.
If the shoulder belt portion of a combination lap and shoulder belt can be
positioned so it does not cross or rest in front of the child's face or neck,
the child should wear the lap and shoulder belt. Moving the child closer to
the center of the vehicle may help provide a good shoulder belt fit.
Do not leave children, unreliable adults, or pets unattended in
your vehicle.
To improve the fit of lap and shoulder belts on children who have
outgrown child safety seats, Ford recommends use of a belt-positioning
booster seat that is labelled as conforming to all Federal motor vehicle
safety standards. Belt-positioning booster seats raise the child and
provide a shorter, firmer seating cushion that encourages safer seating
posture and better fit of lap and shoulder belts on the child.
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100

A belt-positioning booster should be used if the shoulder belt rests in
front of the child's face or neck, or if the lap belt does not fit snugly on
both thighs, or if the thighs are too short to let the child sit all the way
back on the seat cushion when the lower legs hang over the edge of the
seat cushion. You may wish to discuss the special needs of your child
with your pediatrician.
SAFETY SEATS FOR CHILDREN
Child and infant or child safety seats
Use a safety seat that is recommended for the size and weight of the
child. Carefully follow all of the manufacturer's instructions with the
safety seat you put in your vehicle. If you do not install and use the
safety seat properly, the child may be injured in a sudden stop or
collision.
When installing a child safety seat:
²Review and follow the information
presented in theAir Bag
Supplemental Restraint System
section in this chapter.
²Use the correct safety belt buckle
for that seating position (the
buckle closest to the direction the
tongue is coming from).
²Insert the belt tongue into the
proper buckle until you hear a
snap and feel it latch. Make sure the tongue is securely fastened in the
buckle.
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101

²Keep the buckle release button pointing up and away from the safety
seat, with the tongue between the child seat and the release button,
to prevent accidental unbuckling.
²Place seat back in upright position.
²Put the safety belt in the automatic locking mode. Refer toAutomatic
locking mode(passenger side front and outboard rear seating
positions) (if equipped).
Ford recommends the use of a child safety seat having a top tether
strap. Install the child safety seat in a seating position which is capable
of providing a tether anchorage. For more information on top tether
straps, refer toAttaching safety seats with tether straps.
Carefully follow all of the manufacturer's instructions included
with the safety seat you put in your vehicle. If you do not install
and use the safety seat properly, the child may be injured in a sudden
stop or collision.
Installing child safety seats in combination lap and shoulder belt
seating positions
Air bags can kill or injure a child in a child seat.NEVERplace a
rear-facing child seat in front of an active air bag. If you must
use a forward-facing child seat in the front seat, move the seat all the
way back.
1. Position the child safety seat in a
seat with a combination lap and
shoulder belt.
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102

Children 12 and under should be properly restrained in the rear
seat whenever possible.
2. Pull down on the shoulder belt
and then grasp the shoulder belt
and lap belt together.
3. While holding the shoulder and
lap belt portions together, route the
tongue through the child seat
according to the child seat
manufacturer's instructions. Be sure
the belt webbing is not twisted.
4. Insert the belt tongue into the
proper buckle (the buckle closest to
the direction the tongue is coming
from) for that seating position until
you hear a snap and feel the latch
engage. Make sure the tongue is
latched securely by pulling on it.
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103

5. To put the retractor in the
automatic locking mode, grasp the
shoulder portion of the belt and pull
downward until all of the belt is
extracted and a click is heard.
6. Allow the belt to retract. The belt will click as it retracts to indicate it
is in the automatic locking mode.
7. Pull the lap belt portion across
the child seat toward the buckle and
pull up on the shoulder belt while
pushing down with your knee on the
child seat.
8. Allow the safety belt to retract to
remove any slack in the belt.
9. Before placing the child in the
seat, forcibly tilt the seat forward
and back to make sure the seat is
securely held in place.
10. Try to pull the belt out of the retractor to make sure the retractor is
in the automatic locking mode (you should not be able to pull more belt
out). If the retractor is not locked, unbuckle the belt and repeat steps
two through nine.
Check to make sure the child seat is properly secured before each use.
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104

Attaching child safety seats with tether straps
Most new forward-facing child safety seats include a tether strap which
goes over the back of the seat and hooks to an anchoring point. Tether
straps are available as an accessory for many older safety seats. Contact
the manufacturer of your child seat for information about ordering a
tether strap.
The rear seats of your vehicle are equipped with built-in tether strap
anchors located behind the seats as described below.
The tether anchors in your vehicle are either located under a cover
marked with the tether anchor symbol (shown with title) or are recessed
bars on the back side of the seatback.
The tether strap anchors in your vehicle are in the following positions
(shown from top view):
Attach the tether strap only
to the appropriate tether
anchor as shown. The tether strap
may not work properly if attached
somewhere other than the correct
tether anchor.
1. Position the child safety seat on the passenger seat cushion.
2. Route the child safety seat tether strap over the back of the seat.
For vehicles with adjustable head restraints, route the tether strap under
the head restraint and between the head restraint posts, otherwise route
the tether strap over the top of the seatback.
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105

3. Locate the correct anchor for the selected seating position.
²The anchors are located under
the seat frame.
4. Clip the tether strap to the
anchor as shown.
If the tether strap is clipped
incorrectly, the child safety
seat may not be retained properly
in the event of a collision.
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5. Refer to theInstalling child safety seats in combination lap and
shoulder belt seating positionssection of this chapter for further
instructions to secure the child safety seat.
6. Tighten the child safety seat tether strap according to the
manufacturer's instructions.
If the safety seat is not anchored properly, the risk of a child
being injured in a collision greatly increases.
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107

A
Accessory delay ..........................53
Air bag supplemental
restraint system ..........................95
and child safety seats ..............97
description ................................95
disposal ......................................99
driver air bag ............................97
indicator light .....................11, 99
operation ...................................97
passenger air bag .....................97
Air cleaner filter .......177±178, 204
Air conditioning ..........................22
auxiliary heater and air
conditioner ................................24
Antifreeze
(see Engine coolant) ................165
Anti-lock brake system
(see Brakes) ......................112±113
Anti-theft system
warning light .............................13
Audio system (see Radio) .........27
Automatic transmission
driving an automatic
overdrive .................................116
fluid, adding ............................172
fluid, checking ........................172
fluid, refill capacities ..............204
fluid, specification ..................209
Auxiliary power point .................21
Axle
lubricant specifications ..207, 209
refill capacities ........................204
traction lok ..............................179B
Battery .......................................175
acid, treating emergencies .....175
charging system warning light...12
jumping a disabled battery ....151
maintenance-free ....................175
replacement, specifications ...204
servicing ..................................175
voltage gauge ............................17
Belt minder .................................91
Brakes ........................................112
anti-lock ...........................112±113
anti-lock brake system (ABS)
warning light .....................12, 113
brake warning light ..................11
fluid, checking and adding ....163
fluid, refill capacities ..............204
fluid, specifications .........207, 209
lubricant specifications ..207, 209
parking ....................................113
shift interlock ..........................115
Break-in period .............................3
C
Capacities for refilling fluids ....204
Cargo net .....................................73
CD changer .................................39
Certification Label ....................211
Child safety restraints ..............100
child safety belts ....................100
Child safety seats ......................101
attaching with tether straps ..105
in front seat ............................102
in rear seat ..............................102
Cleaning your vehicle ...............199
engine compartment ..............201
Index
225

Locks
childproof ..................................53
doors ..........................................53
Lubricant specifications ...207, 209
Lumbar support, seats .........76±77
M
Manual transmission
fluid capacities ........................204
lubricant specifications ..........209
Message center ...........................58
english/metric button ...............58
menu button .............................59
Mirrors .........................................58
automatic dimming rearview
mirror ........................................57
fold away ...................................55
heated ........................................55
side view mirrors (power) .......54
Motorcraft parts ................189, 204
O
Octane rating ............................187
Odometer .....................................16
Oil (see Engine oil) ..................160
Overdrive .....................................51
P
Panic alarm feature, remote
entry system ................................66
Parking brake ............................113
Parts (see Motorcraft parts) ....204
Power distribution box
(see Fuses) ...............................143Power door locks ........................53
Power steering ..........................114
fluid, checking and adding ....171
fluid, refill capacity ................204
fluid, specifications .........207, 209
Preparing to
drive your vehicle .....................115
R
Radio ............................................27
Relays ........................................138
Remote entry system ...........64, 66
illuminated entry ......................67
locking/unlocking doors ...........65
panic alarm ...............................66
replacement/additional
transmitters ...............................68
replacing the batteries .............66
Roof rack ...................................133
S
Safety belts (see Safety
restraints) ..................14, 84±87, 89
Safety defects, reporting ..........224
Safety restraints ..............84±87, 89
belt minder ...............................91
cleaning the safety belts ..94, 203
extension assembly ..................90
for adults .............................85±87
for children .......................99±100
lap belt ......................................89
warning light
and chime ......................11, 14, 91
Safety seats for children ..........101
Seat belts
(see Safety restraints) ...............84
Index
229